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Updated on
September 12, 2009,
A.S.
asks from
Massillon, OH
on
September 10, 2009

Little Black Bugs

Ok, I hope someone can help me. I have been seeing tiny black bugs randomly in my house. They are not fleas or knats. They are small and black, they don't jump and they are easily killed (you can squish them between your fingers). I am just wondering if someone can tell me what they are and how to get rid of them. Thanks!

I suggest you try and catch some alive and take them to an exterminator. They can at least tell you what they are which should help with figuring out how to get rid of them. Also check your dry goods in the house like flour and rice and cereal, as they might be feeding off of these things. I had some once that were a little smaller than an ant and it turned out they were actually a form of a beetle and the only way I could rid of them was the exterminator and getting rid of all the open foods in the house. I also discovered a "nest" along the insulation in the garage. In the mean time try those plastic ant traps.. just be sure you put them in places out of your baby's view. Good luck.

I kept finding tiny black bugs in my house not alot but enough to make me wonder. I ended up going through food looking for them and I found them in a box of dog treats. It wasn't some huge infestation but I try to keep my dog treats in an airtight container now not just the box they come in. I hope this is helpful.

Hi A., I won't be any help to you other than I occasionally have them too. The ones we have are hard black and shiny they are easily crushed but for us the leave almost as quickly as they come. Good Luck and sorry I wasn't any help.

I am told they are fruit flies. They are so bad this year! My neighbor went to the local hardware store ( Seitz Agin in Cleve Hts) and got a fruit fly jar. it lets them fly in, and they can't fly out. I think I'm going to stop in there today and get one!

We have had some of these in our upstairs bathroom. They are very very tiny, like a teeny piece of lint. I have no clue what they are either. We are going to spray with Mystic and hope it works for them.

It sounds like a fruit fly infestation. I get them every fall when I go pick apples. You can make you own fly trap. Pour 1" apple cider vinegar into a small glass. Put one drop of liquid dishwashing liquid in the glass on the top. The flies will go in to eat the cider vinegar but get "caught" in the soap and drown. Place the cup near your fruit basket or trash can. Also, be sure and throw any banana and other fruit peels in your outside trash cans. Hope this helps!!

If they are the same ones we get every fall, they are so small they come through the screens. I haven't found any way of getting rid of them and the deeper into fall we get, the worse they are. They eventually just die off, but we get them every fall. I've tried Raid and it kills a few but not all.

Could they be fruit flies? Do they fly around, or do they just crawl on surfaces? Often fruit flies will hover around bananas that are sitting out, or open garbage cans or even drains. Getting rid of them just involves getting rid of their food sources.

You didn't say whether they fly or not? Most people are thinking they are fruit flies, however if they don't fly them they are not fruit flies. Usually if you bananas or a fruit dish in the house you will have them. I notice in the grocery store around onions, there are hundreds of them.

There are books in the hardware store in the garden center that shows all kinds of bugs.

When you squish them does it look red. I get those every once in a while usually on my window sills. Those are clover mites and come in from outside. They are not harmful but are a annoying.

Please let us know if you figure out what they are. Good luck with this.

I have seen similar bugs at my house. I'm not sure of the source, but I'm thinking they may be coming either from the fruit bowl (store bought) or we have a garden and bring in a lot of tomato's and other veggies. They seem to be attracted to the kitchen light and I even had a bunch on a white paper plate the other night. Not sure of a solution, but for now we are leaving the veggies outside until we use them and throwing out any over ripe fruit. Good Luck.